Computing devices are routinely used at work, at home, and everywhere else. Computing devices advantageously enable electronic communication, data sharing (e.g., documents, pictures, music, film, etc.), the use of application-specific software, and access to information for electronic commerce through the Internet and other computer networks.
The term computing device generally refers to desktop computers, laptop computers, mobile computing devices (e.g., personal digital assistants (PDAs), cell-phones, etc.), as well as any other type of computer system. A computing device typically includes a processor and a memory as well as other types of electronic devices, such as, a disk drive.
Disk drives typically employ a moveable head actuator to frequently access large amounts of data stored on a disk. One example of a disk drive is a hard disk drive. A conventional hard disk drive has a head disk assembly (“HDA”) including at least one magnetic disk (“disk”), a disk clamp and a disk screw to mount the disk to a spindle motor that rapidly rotates the disk, and a head stack assembly (“HSA”) that includes a moveable actuator arm and a head gimbal assembly (“HGA”) with a moveable transducer head for reading and writing data. The HSA forms part of a servo control system that positions the moveable head over a particular track on the disk to read or write information from and to that track, respectively.
As disk drives are becoming smaller and smaller and are being actively utilized more and more by individuals both as moveable external disk drives for multiple computing devices and for use with smaller computing devices such as mobile devices (e.g. PDAs, cell-phones, etc.) they are increasingly being subjected to more and more pinch by individuals. Pinch generally refers to pressure against the external cover of the disk drive that may cause contact with the internal components of the disk drive such as the disk clamp, the disk screw, the disk, and the HSA. Unfortunately, such pinch contact may cause failure of the disk drive by the spindle motor stopping rotation of the disk, damage to the internal components of the disk drive by the cover contacting the internal components, damage to the disk media by the head contacting the disk media, and contamination by the cover contacting the internal components of the disk drive.
Accordingly, more efficient techniques to reduce pinch between the cover and the internal components of the disk drive are sought after.